OPS, EPS, AIADMK: Making sense of Tamil Nadu's political alphabet soup

O Panneerselvam bowing in front of J. Jayalalithaa. He held the CM’s post when Jayalalithaa stepped down due to court-ordained legal compulsions and also when she was battling illness.

There are two key claimants to the party’s leadership: Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) and O. Panneerselvam (OPS). Both are former chief ministers of the state. OPS held the CM’s post when Jayalalithaa stepped down due to court-ordained legal compulsions and also when she was hospitalised for a prolonged period before her demise in 2016.

EPS, on the other hand, became chief minister after Jayalalitha’s death. He was, in fact, a default CM after the chief ministerial ambitions of V.K. Sasikala/Sasikala Natarajan, a close associate of Jayalalitha, were dashed when the Supreme Court sentenced her to jail in a corruption case. Sasikala picked EPS, who belongs to the Gounder community, to be the CM post.

OPS, who belongs to the Thevar community, was upset by this move and rebelled against the Sasikala-blessed EPS government. But OPS and EPS patched up to share power until the AIADMK was ousted in the assembly election held in April 2021.

Out of power, the focus now shifted to control of the party.

The flashpoint

The proposal to move away from the two-person leadership concept toward a single-leader system has become a serious bone of contention now.

The OPS faction

The OPS bloc (largely members of the dominant Thevar community) is peeved as it views this as a bid to marginalise OPS and populate key decision-making bodies with EPS supporters. At the time of the rapprochement between the two leaders following Jayalalithaa’s death and the ugly spat that followed, the understanding seemed to be that EPS would run the government and OPS the party affairs. After losing the elections, this arrangement, the OPS faction believes, is sought to be cancelled. The single-leader move, they feel, is a well-planned exercise to edge out OPS and weaken his hold in the party.

Interestingly enough, Sasikala (who was expelled from the party) appears to sympathise with OPS this time around though she was the one who was instrumental in anointing EPS as the chief minister.

The EPS faction

EPS became CM only because of Sasikala. But the wheel has come full circle now. Sasikala is persona non grata for EPS now. For far too long, the Thevar community held complete sway over Tamil Nadu politics with Sasikala, who belongs to the community, calling the shots while living in the shadow of Jayalalithaa. The community lobby is playing out strongly now with EPS ever so keen to consolidate his hold on the party apparatus.

SWOT analysis

OPS has a calm exterior. It is widely believed that the Modi government at the Centre has been sympathetic to him. It is suggested that he has not been accommodative towards his supporters. However, he is credited with having pushed hard to get a Rajya Sabha nomination for his supporters.

EPS, too, if sources are to be believed, has taken care of his supporters. He has, in a way, broken the prolonged hold of the Thevar community over party affairs. It is unlikely that he will allow his hold over the party—which he has assiduously built ever since he took over as the CM—to be weakened in the evolving political game.

The winner

At the moment, EPS seems to have won the latest round with the Madras High Court refusing to interfere in the affairs of the party. The general council on Monday elected him as interim general secretary of the party, reviving the post after a hiatus of five years.

The loser

The general council has expelled OPS and a few of his supporters citing “anti-party activities”. Now, OPS has to fight his expulsion.

Way ahead

It isn’t easy to give up. And OPS surely will not. He has already held a dharna in front of the party office. According to sources, he will legally contest his expulsion.

Simultaneously, it is gathered that he could move the Election Commission to freeze the “two leaves” symbol allotted to the AIADMK.

Observation

Given the peaceful manner in which the general council was conducted on Monday and given the huge attendance, it is clear that EPS has the edge at this point of time. But the battle will be fought on the legal front and also before the Election Commission.